Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 29744 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 149(@200wpm)___ 119(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29744 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 149(@200wpm)___ 119(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
"It is what it is," I say quietly, my heart pulsing at the softness in his expression. "I learned quickly that not everyone who should support you does, and not everyone who says they're in your corner actually are. It comes with the territory when you're in this business."
"That's fucked up."
"That's Nashville."
"It's fucked up," he says, enunciating each word carefully. "You deserve better."
He's right, but my parents are who they are. They aren't going to change just because I wish they would or just because their behavior hurts me. My mom thinks Nashville is one step from Los Angeles, and Los Angeles might as well be parked outside of hell's front gates.
"Regardless, it's not my mom," I say and then laugh abruptly. "She's probably pitching a fit about how mortifying it is to have me all over every news channel in the country right now. It'll have the old ladies at church gossiping for weeks. She'll hate that."
Ronan grunts, though I'm not sure if the sound means he hopes she is stewing in her own juices or if it means 'eff her and the pony she rode in on. It's hard to tell with him. He expresses a lot through grunts, but they sound a lot alike.
"Finish your breakfast, songbird," he murmurs, pressing his lips to my temple.
"Are you going to put me back in my chair first?"
"Nah." He grabs my plate, dragging it closer to his. "I like you right where you're at."
Chapter Six
Ronan
"You want to do what?" I growl, glaring at Winter across the living room.
"Go to the hospital to visit with the fans who were hurt at the show," she says calmly. "And before you get all grumpy and tell me no, you should know that Riley says this isn't something that I should skip, nor is it something I want to skip."
I stare at her placidly, tempted to tell her hell no regardless of what she wants. The last place she needs to be is at the hospital visiting with fans, one of whom just tried to kill her. But after our conversation this morning…I'm no longer convinced it was a fan. She's sure it wasn't her mother, but I'm not as convinced. I just need a little time to do some digging.
"This is important to me, Ronan," she says quietly. "I'm where I am because they supported me. They showed up at my shows and bought my albums. And now they've been hurt because someone tried to hurt me. It's not just insensitive to ignore that, it's cruel. They deserve better from me. I know it's risky, but some risks are worth taking."
"They mean a lot to you, don't they?" I ask, softening slightly.
"Yes." She nods emphatically, her ponytail bobbing with her head. "It's hard to be a curvy girl in the music business. Even in this day and age, everyone still has something to say about the way we look and the way we dress and how much we weigh and how fat our butts are. God forbid if we're photographed eating or if we don't love the gym or have a personal trainer. The media loves to criticize us for being human and having human bodies," she says. "My fans are the first to shut that crap down."
I stomp toward her, growling. "People say mean shit about you? They talk about your body?"
"Uh, only every day." She rolls her eyes.
"Who?" I demand, stopping in front of her. "I want names, songbird."
She tilts her head back, looking up at me. A tiny smile curves her lips up at the corners. "Why? Are you going to go knock heads for me, Ronan?"
"I was thinking more along the lines of sticking my boot up their asses until they feel my toes tickling their tonsils," I mutter, hooking my finger through her belt loop to pull her toward me. "But yeah, same principle."
"That may be the sweetest thing anyone has ever wanted to do for me," she whispers.
"I'm your bodyguard, songbird. That means it's my job to guard this fucking perfect body." I tug her forward until she's pressed up against me, her luscious tits against my chest. "No one talks badly about you or makes you feel like anything less than the goddamn knockout you are unless they want to deal with me."
Her expression goes soft, her amber eyes practically glowing. "You think I'm a knockout?"
"You think I was jerking off into that cunt last night just because you were there, Winter?" I ask, cocking a brow at her. "Hell no. You're the prettiest little thing I've ever seen. My dick hasn't gone down since I saw you. I don't know what the hell you see in a man like me, but I'm not questioning my good fortune. So long as you want me, I'm not telling you no."